Spring Rain
by SarahNev
Summary: HIATUS. Katara, Aang, and Sokka meet up with Haru on their way to the Earth Kingdom. He and Katara bond as they go through hard times together, but Haru's past isn't as it first seems. Romance, angst, and action. Wow, is it the first full Karu fic ever?
1. You Found Me

Chapter One: You Found Me

I dragged my foot forward until it came into contact with the small stone in my path, and it bounced a few yards away. This was my favorite thing to do as a traveled; it kept my mind off things that I would rather not think about. _Don't dwell on it, Haru,_ I told myself, _just think about something else._ I came upon another rock and tried to kick it without breaking my stride but I missed, my boot only grazing its top, and the stone merely flipped over.

I had been travelling for several days by then. Just walking, sleeping, eating, and walking some more. I was on the road to Ba-Sing-Sei, the Earth Kingdom capitol, but other than that I wasn't sure where I was going. I would figure it out when I got there.

I avoided other people when I could, only venturing to markets on my path when I needed to work for some extra food. I gathered most of my other meals from fishing, picking berries, whatever I could find. It had been a long walk and I was getting very tired, but my last temporary employer said I was near my destination.

Gradually I started to hear voices approaching behind me. Usually whenever a group of people drew near me, I would make camp for the day or stop to gather food, waiting for them to pass. I did not do so just yet, however; I decided to listen for a moment.

"But Soooookkaaaa…." I heard a young boy groan, "I don't waaant to walk. Remember the _last_ time we walked? We walked right into a Fire Nation camp!"

"Oh stop complaining, Aang," replied an older boy's voice. "Zuko and his men are miles away from us, remember? We lost them all the way back at the North Pole. I bet they don't even know that we're heading to Ba-Sing-Sei. We even saw Zhao, remember, heading in the complete opposite direction!" I heard his voice crack with glee at the last statement.

The boy apparently wasn't listening, though. "Hey, Katara, you remember that day when we were walking? And Sokka's instincts helped us carry our packs?" the boy said, giggling. I drew in a sharp breath. _Did he say…Katara?_ Oh, it would be so nice to see her again… Then I let logic creep into my mind, although it was disappointing— _There must be tons of Katara's in the world. It's probably not her._

I started listening more closely and walked slower now, however.

I heard a girl's voice giggle. "Yeah, do you think it's time to ask again? Hey, Sokka's instincts…"

This time I stopped dead in my tracks. I would know that voice anywhere. The realization also sparked another memory, of the two boys— their voices and names matched up with my recollections. This was no coincidence….

I took off my pack, heart pounding, and pretended that I needed to adjust the strap. Soon they had rounded the small bend in the road that had previously separated us.

"Hey look, a traveler!" I heard Aang say to his friends. Then his footsteps came more quickly as he ran toward me. "Hi there, do you know if there's a market around here?" he called.

I looked up, but not at Aang. My gaze locked onto Katara's and my heart skipped a beat. She immediately cried out, _"Haru!"_ and ran right for me.

She grabbed my neck in a tight hug and I smiled sheepishly. "Hi Katara," I said, pulling away and grinning.

"Oh Haru it's so good to see you again!" she cried, beaming.

"Hi there, Haru!" said Aang, flashing me a grin as his pet lemur hopped onto his head.

"Yeah, nice to see you," said Sokka, also smiling. "Where you headed to?"

I greeted the two boys and then replied, "Ba-Sing-Sei."

"Really? So are we!" Aang said. "I'm gonna learn Earthbending from the Master in the city!"

I nodded, remembering that this was the Avatar. He needed to master all four elements, unlike me; I was only an Earthbender.

"Come with us, Haru, we'll walk together until we reach the city," Katara suggested.

"Great idea," I said, smiling and lifting my pack onto my shoulder.

The giant bison behind them grunted and Katara turned to face it. "Aww, Appa wants to fly, don'chu boy?" she cooed, rubbing the animal's heavy fur. "What do you say, Sokka? Give our guest a ride on Appa?"

Sokka looked up at the sky, frowning thoughtfully. "Well, there _are_ some clouds out now…" he said thoughtfully. Then he announced authoritatively, "Let's go, we'll be safe with them as cover."

Aang cheered, leapt about ten feet in the air, and landed on Appa's saddle.

As I climbed up with the others, Katara muttered to me, "Don't get the impression that Sokka's the real brains of our group— he just likes to act bossy. He didn't care _that 'the clouds are covering us'_ —" she adopted a lower voice, mimicking Sokka's for the last phrase, "or whatever… He was just getting sick of walking."

I hoisted myself onto the bison and grinned. "Okay, Katara, whatever you say_." Typical sibling rivalry,_ I thought with a smile, remembering my own— _No, Haru. Don't think about that right now._

I had hardly sat down when Aang proclaimed, "Yip yip!" I was about to ask what he was saying when Appa threw himself into the air and we were flying! I gasped and clutched onto the saddle, looking down at the earth from the sky. The treetops were indistinguishable blotches of dark green, and huge lakes turned to shining puddles. There were clearings here and there, and I could even see ant-like lines of travelers on the roads.

"I'm not sure that I like flying so much," I said, cringing at the long drop below.

Aang just smiled. "You'll get used to it! For now, just don't look down."

I was happy to take his advice and scooted closer to the middle of the saddle.

We plunged through a layer of clouds, and then Appa slowed to a more comfortable pace. I relaxed my fists, clenched out of fear, as Katara turned to me. "So Haru," she said, now that there was no roar of wind in our ears, "why are you going to Ba-Sing-Sei? What about the fight for your village?"

I felt a cold feeling sweep through me but I think I managed to keep my face impassive. "I… I'm going to learn advanced Earthbender technique here. I've surpassed even my father's abilities; he says he has nothing more to teach me."

Katara beamed. "That's great, Haru! Oh, doesn't that mean you'll be working at the same place as Aang?"

"I guess it is," I said, a slight ray of hope shining through, the cold feeling lessening slightly. _I guess I won't have to be just another homeless kid after all. At least I know where I'm going now._

* * *

There were only a few more hours until the sun started to go down. Katara had to poke a dozing Sokka and say, "Oh leader, sir, will you command the pilot to land this ship? It's getting dark." 

Sokka jerked awake. "Ehh…what?" He blinked, the information taking a moment to register. "Oh, yeah." Then he adopted a supposedly stronger voice, ordering, "Aang, bring the ship back to port," and within the next five seconds was snoring.

Katara looked at me and giggled. I would have grinned back but I was desperately clenching the edge of the saddle again, for Appa was diving down to earth at another uncomfortably fast speed.

"You don't like flying much, do you?" asked Katara after we landed.

"Not exactly," I replied, following Aang to our campsite. "I feel a lot more comfortable on the ground." I sat down and bended few rocks into a circle to make a place for the campfire.

"I guess it must have something to do with being an Earthbender, huh?" she said, dropping a few sticks into the circle.

"Yeah, probably."

We got the fire started just as Aang came back. He dumped nuts and berries that he had collected into a basket, and Sokka proudly arrived with a dead rabbit a few minutes later. That evening I enjoyed one of the heartiest meals I had had during my entire journey so far— without even counting the food, I enjoyed the smiles, laughter, and even a sibling fight. It was just nice to be with people again.

In no time at all Aang had fallen asleep with the lemur curled up on his head. Then Sokka and Katara had a squabble over who got the comfier sleeping bag for the night, but besides that everyone was peacefully snoring in a matter of minutes.

However I still lay on my back, unable to fall asleep. I was used to the silence of solitude at night— not the stirring of a lemur, a teenage boy's snores, or a giant bison's occasional grunting. I sighed, looking at the stars, and wondered… should I have told them? _No, it's better this way._ I turned over onto my side and let sleep cloud my thoughts.

"_Haru! Hurry!"_

_I turned around with a worried look on my face. All I could see in the gray, cold, night was my mother, her face dimly lit by a lantern. "But Mom, what about you?" I asked frantically, my voice cracking._

"_Just go, Haru! Don't look back!" She pointed ahead of me forcefully. I knew I had to obey._

_I took a few steps back, a feeling of dread taking over me. Finally I turned and ran as hard as I could. I couldn't see anything now; the dark around me blurred as I choked back tears. I could hear, above my own footsteps and the pounding of my heart, gruff voices in the distance. _

_Then— a sudden flash of light and a scream._

With a gasp I woke up. It was before dawn; the sky was a deep purple and there was dew on the grass around me.

I put a hand to my face, still breathing hard. There were wet streaks running down my cheeks. I quickly rubbed them away and turned over, but I couldn't get back to sleep.

* * *

**Author's Note:**  
Okay, so here is the first chapter of my Katara-Haru fanfiction. Yes, it will be romance, but mild and not over-fluffy. It's also pretty angsty, and I'll try to put some action in. Constructive criticism very much appreciated, and I hope this is an improvement since my last fanfiction (Sweet Flame --- now deleted because of its extreme horribleness).

If you have a problem with Karu then that's okay, flames are welcome! I know there aren't many obsessive Karu fans out there so I hope you'll read just for the fun of it.I really decided to write this because I was horrified when I realized there was not _one_ full Karu fanfiction on FFnet; the pairing has so much potential! I'm not a crazy shipper or anything, in fact I like pretty much all Het ships --- Karu, Kataang, Zutara, whatever.

Thanks SO much to the amazing Elle, a.k.a Hotspur, who had influenced my writing, helped my plotline,encouraged me to post,and is generally awesome! And of course she also thought up the story title, I think without realizing exactly how perfect it was!

And another thanks to RabidFangirl67, my fellow Karu shipper, who also Beta-ed!


	2. Losing Grip

Chapter Two: Losing Grip

I may have had a sleepless night before, but the next day went much better. We got a lot of distance covered on Appa until sundown, and then we landed for the evening.

Sokka slid down Appa's tail and onto the ground, and Katara and I followed. With a strange purring noise, Momo the lemur landed on my shoulder.

Katara giggled. "He likes you, Haru," she told me, stroking his ears affectionately. I gave the creature an awkward pat as well, and Momo didn't leave my shoulder for several hours.

As Sokka was out hunting and I helped Katara light a fire, I heard footsteps in the distance. "Wait," I said to Katara, motioning for her to stop rubbing two twigs together. "Do you hear that?"

"Hear what?" she asked. Momo's ears had perked up as well.

A caravan of silver-clad travelers came into view, rounding the bend ahead of us. Momo hissed, but Katara scooped him into her arms and hushed him. We both sat there, unsure of what to do. Katara looked uneasily towards the woods where her brother disappeared an hour before; I knew that despite her teasing, she felt secure with him there to protect her.

Suddenly an elderly man from the front of the group held up a hand and hailed us. "Greetings, travelers!" he called out in a deep, booming voice. "We come in peace!"

I relaxed only slightly but Katara stood up, smiling. "Hello!" she called back.

In a moment they stood next to our camp. A frail-looking woman with silver hair to match her dress bowed to us. "We are the Ai-Souka clan," she sai, her high voice quivering with age. "I am the leader, Jooi Rousai, and this is my husband," she gestured to the man who had called out earlier, "Ouja Okina."

The man bowed, a perpetual grin on his round face. "So, young ones, where are you headed? Just married, on your honeymoon?"

Both of our faces reddened and Katara stuttered a reply. "Oh, oh no, we're going to Ba-Sing-Sei," she told him, "and this is my friend, Haru. My name is Katara. My brother and other friend are also with us."

"Ahh I see," the man said. "More refugees?"

"Okina, do hush for once in your life," said the woman, "it would do you some good." She then turned to us and put frail but firm hands on each of our shoulders. "Dears, you would be happy to know that you are hardly three days from your destination."

At the sight of our bright smiles she smiled in a motherly way. "And not only that, but the famous Yochi River runs only half a day from here."

"Oh thank you, Jooi, ma'am!" cried Katara, throwing her arms around the old woman's neck. Jooi Rousai was not at all surprised by the gesture but smiled, and I became certain, by her maternal manner, that the woman had several children and grandchildren of her own.

"We will be getting on our way, now, but have a nice trip," she said kindly, breaking away.

"The Ai-Souka clan is famed for being travelers of the night," piped up the old man, beaming, before they began walking again.

I smiled and waved as the small clan passed by. Some smiled joyfully and waved in the bright manner of Ouja Okina, others had the kind but pointed features of Jooi Rousai, and many were somewhere in between.

Minutes later, the two other boys came back to camp with a meal. Katara excitedly relayed the events to them as we ate, and all of us set to bed cheerier than ever.

I tucked the snug sleeping bag around me, certain that nothing could ruin this day. _I won't have nightmares tonight, either,_ I thought as I drifted off…. But I was wrong.

A shriek suddenly pierced my quiet dreams.

I knew that scream. _Katara, no… _I thought. _Don't go, please don't leave me…._

"_Haru,"_ she cried out, _"help! Sokka, Aang, help!" _Suddenly the shrill cries were muffled and I woke up, cold sweat on my forehead.

It wasn't a dream.

I only had a second to register the scene after I sat up. A man in armor had a hand forced over Katara's mouth, and the other cradled a flame below her neck. As my eyes adjusted I saw a dark scar over her captor's right eye — was this Firebender the infamous banished Prince Zuko I had heard stories about?

Before I could further speculate I was roughly grabbed by the arms and forced into a standing position. A hand stuffed something foul tasting into my mouth to gag me, and my hands were tied together behind my back. Across the campsite I saw Sokka being treated in a similar way.

Aang, hearing the cries, jumped up immediately and assumed a fighting stance. He narrowed his eyes at Zuko.

"If you want your friends to stay alive, Avatar, hand yourself over," Zuko said to him in a raspy, menacing voice.

Aang's eyes widened and he looked, terrified, at Katara and then to Sokka. As each met his gaze they tried to shake their heads, although firmly in the grasps of the stronger men. Muffled cries of dissent came from both siblings.

"Let them go!" cried Aang in his high, childish voice, and with a _whoosh_ he Airbended his staff into his hand. Was the Avatar any match for the Prince? I wondered, noticing the drastic difference in pitch of the two enemies' voices.

"If you come quietly I won't harm them," Zuko snarled back, the flame in his palm growing. Katara's eyes widened in fright and she struggled to move away from the fire.

One of the soldiers holding Sokka unsheathed a sword and placed the blade below Sokka's neck. I heard a similar sound somewhere behind me and cold metal, the flat of the sword, was pressed against my own neck.

Aang looked around, debating with himself what to do. He looked at every person with his round gray eyes, from Zuko to Katara, and from Sokka to each individual soldier… I noticed a few of the soldiers averted their gaze from Aang's. There was something about that innocent stare of the boy they were trying to capture; it looked like guilt was squirming inside of the men.

Finally, Aang assumed a neutral stance, straightening his body and staring down Zuko without flinching. "I'll go with you."

Zuko did not need to be told twice: he gestured for men to tie up Aang and immediately let go of Katara. Sokka and I were also released, the ropes roughly cut off our hands and gags pulled out of our mouths.

Aang looked back at us as he was being led away. "Don't worry, guys," he said almost cheerily. "I can get away. I have before, isn't that right?"

This did nothing to soothe Katara. "Aang, no…" she cried out. She looked like she was debating weather to run right up to him and take on the whole troop of soldiers single-handedly.

Sokka put a hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry, Aang's right— and if he doesn't escape, we'll rescue him."

However I could hear Prince Zuko say in the distance, "I won't underestimate you this time, Avatar…"

We knew what we had to do now. We followed on foot. Sokka led us through woods so that the Firebenders would not notice us. However, they were a good deal ahead of us anyway. Katara said that they probably had their Komodo rhinos with them, which would go much faster than us going on foot.

Soon the trees thinned and we could see the dawn peeking through the foliage. "Wait." Katara held out a hand in front of Sokka and me. "Let's go quietly. We need to surprise them— there's no way we can take all of them on alone."

We crept forward, wary of cracking twigs below our feet, until we could see the clearing. There was a faint sound in the distance, of rushing wind, or…

_"A river!"_ Sokka cried, his eyes wide.

"It must be the Yochi River that the caravan told us about," I told him, looking closer. There weren't any trees for probably a mile. The path I had been following alone last week did not go straight to Zuko's position in the river; I suspected that there was a bridge father down that it led to. The only other thing I could notice was a big dark shadow on the water. "Wait, what's in the river…?"

There were a few moments of silent puzzlement as we all strained our eyes towards the shadow. "It's Zuko's ship!" Katara announced suddenly, she apparently having the best vision out of the three of us.

"Ohh…" Sokka said, realization dawning on him. "Zuko took his boat down here from the ocean to cut us off! He must have heard a rumor that we were travelling to the capitol, or he just guessed since everyone knows Aang needs to learn Earthbending next." I was impressed with his quick thinking; he reminded me of my father and the other tactful Earth Kingdom generals.

"I see," I said, frowning in thought. "So Aang is on the ship? How do we get to him?"

I looked at Katara. Katara looked at Sokka. Sokka shrugged.

After a moment he said something, however. "Well, we could go with same plan as always…"

"What's that?" I asked.

"Make it up as we go along!" Katara told me.

But Sokka narrowed his eyes, still thinking hard. "Well before we do anything we'll need to find a way in," he said, still studying the miniscule ship.

"The ship is on the water. I can use Waterbending." Katara suggested, looking down at Sokka's dirt illustration.

"That's a good idea," I agreed, also bending down to see the drawing better. "From what I can see now, there's no more woods after this piece we're in. We'll have to walk through the clearing…"

There was suddenly a loud _click_ that cut me off. Then a low hum started.

"_Zuko's taking off!"_ Katara cried, jumping up pointing desperately at the slowly but surely moving ship. "We have to hurry!"

"What about surprise…?" I started to say as we all ran to the edge of the woods, but Sokka shook his head.

"Now that they're moving they won't expect us. We just have to risk it!"

We emerged into the clearing, the sudden burst of dawn's sunlight making me squint. Prince Zuko's ship was the only shadow against the sun; there was not a tree in sight. We ran as hard as we could, feet slipping over dewy grass and legs tired from lack of sleep, but we still ran.

By the time we reached the river, Zuko's ship was still in sight. I noticed that it was traveling upstream — so _that_ was why it was moving so slow. But that also meant that _we_ would have to go upstream, too, and the rapid current did not look friendly.

"This way!" Katara said, leading us to the riverbank. The Firebenders could not hear our voices over the rushing water and rumbling engine, luckily, and the ship's massive size protected anyone from seeing us. One could only notice us if he stuck his head right over the edge of the boat.

Sokka frowned, looking up at the ship's huge gray hull. "There's only one way up," he announced, unsheathing his boomerang. "Here goes nothing…" He flung the weapon into the sky, and a long rope trailed after it like a kite string. His aim was perfect; it wrapped itself around the pointy front of the ship three times before coming to a stop.

"Come on!" Sokka said, jumping into the water while still having a firm grip on the rope. Katara and I both grabbed another piece of it and waded in.

"_Argh!"_ I cried. The water was freezing! My opinion of the two Water Tribe teens increased significantly. They were amazing, how were they able to stand this? But they swam through the icy water as easily as if they were merely taking an afternoon stroll. I could only try to keep my head above the water and ignore my heavy, Earth Kingdom-made clothes that were attempting to pull me down.

Finally, we reached the ship. Sokka started to climb, holding onto the rope and walking vertically up the hull. I followed, and Katara went last.

We had all hardly taken three steps when Sokka started sliding back down. "I…can't…hold on!" he grunted, the thin rope slipping through his fingers. It was all I could do to stay up as well, and Katara also didn't look like she was having an easy time.

"Oh!" she said suddenly. "I have an idea!"

Looking down, I could see Katara reach toward the river with one hand and then thrust her palm up. A small wave of water crashed onto the boat. But Katara, concentrating hard, froze several footholds into the ship!

"Awesome idea!" I said, grinning.

"You're a genius!" Sokka told her gleefully, voice cracking.

"Come on, let's keep climbing!" was Katara's only response.

Finally we had made our way almost to the top. I didn't dare look down. Above me I could see Sokka's feet, but he wasn't moving. "Shh," he warned, looking at Katara and me, "I'm waiting for the right time… Okay he's gone! Now!" Sokka pulled himself up onto the deck of the ship, and I followed. Everything I could see was metal: the deck below us, and the tall, layered tower coming out of the deck. However there was also a large, square hole in the deck with steps in it.

"Look, that must be where the dungeons are!" I said to Katara, pointing.

She followed my finger with her gaze. "Ooh, good. Well we need to disappear from the open before anybody notices us. Where to, Sokka?"

Sokka only thought for a moment, looking worriedly at the tower above us for anyone who spotted us. "You and Haru go to the tower, I'll search the dungeon. No time to argue, let's go before they see us!"

I knew I should think more about it, but I agreed and sneaked towards the tower with Katara. We hugged the sides of the ship so that we were less noticeable, however I knew our colorful clothes stood out against the dark gray metal.

"Well, here goes nothing," I said, my heart pounding, as we reached the door to the tower. I knew this could be the door that led to my imprisonment, enslavement, or death. _Or worse yet,_ I thought, _Katara's._ I suddenly felt stronger— no, I was not going to let that happen. Not another one.

I reached out and shoved the door's lock, a huge, flat bar, to the side and it opened! I thanked the gods that it hadn't been locked. Katara carefully made sure that the door didn't slam, and we proceeded inside.

The maroon hallway was lined with doors and doors, all identical to the one we had just opened. We carefully opened each one — rooms of armor, empty crew's quarters, weaponry, food supplies… Everything was empty.

"Where is everyone?" I asked Katara quietly after coming to the end of the hall. I hardly skipped a breath as we opened each room, now; the suspense was wearing off.

"I don't know," she whispered back worriedly. "But what about Sokka?" She bit her lip.

I nodded. "Yeah, we should go down to the dungeon. He might—"

Suddenly the sound of several pairs of boots clanging against metal rang out, along with a male cry— "Sokka!" Katara cried, sprinting down the corridor before I could stop her.

I had no choice but to follow. "Katara, wait up, don't get yourself caught!" I called as quietly as I could while still being heard. But I realized that she wasn't going to hear anything, much less reason, at this point.

I caught up with her just as she slammed open the door. I knew that had been a mistake on her part, but there was no way to fix it now.

In front of us stood Aang and Sokka, surrounded by twenty Firebenders. "Uh oh," I muttered.

At the loud slam of the door, Zuko turned to us. His eyes widened in surprise before turning back to narrow and fierce. "Get them!" he called out, sweeping his hand to the side so that part of the soldiers would run our way.

"Katara, Haru, no!" called Sokka amidst the fire blasts. "We're trapped! Just leave!"

"But Sokka!" cried Katara, still frozen to where she stood.

"Katara, GO!" Aang ordered while trying to deflect the Firebenders' attacks. "Oof!" He slipped and fell back, a blast coming perilously close to his face.

Sokka fell down and put his arms over his head, defenseless without Aang's spinning staff.

"_Sokka!"_ Katara screamed. "Aang!"

"Come on, Katara, there's nothing we can do!" I cried, grabbing her by the arm. The soldiers were approaching quickly, but I knew we could get away if we ran now because of their hindering armor. "We'll come back for them!"

I didn't wait for her to agree or protest. I pulled her toward the side of the ship and she followed, tears streaming down her cheeks. I stood behind her, put my hands on her shoulders, and said into her ear: "Katara, we _need to jump overboard_. Please, we'll go back for them."

She took a deep breath and nodded. "Don't let go, Haru," she told me. We locked hands and stepped onto the railing. It was a long drop… but Katara didn't let me think twice. She leapt forwards, taking me with her.

We were flying.

With a cry she pushed her free hand forward just before the impact. I shut my eyes, prepared to die, but we entered the water as peacefully as if I was merely sinking into a cold bath. An extremely freezing cold bath.

We swam to shore again and I helped her onto the bank. She was very weak and shuddering uncontrollably. Shivers went through my own body, as well, from the cold water.

Suddenly she broke down and started sobbing, leaning into my embrace.

"Come on, Katara," I said soothingly, wiping the water off her face. It was a strange mix between freezing river water and warm tears. "It'll be okay."

* * *

**AN: **Wow, this took _forever!_ I'm so sorry, hopefully chapter three will be up sooner!

Another thanks to my beta, Hotspur! And also, I hope Katara's method of climbing up the ship wasn't too close tothe one in Booter-Freak'sClose Combat. xP If you've got any problems, I'll try again to get around it...


	3. Hold On

**Chapter Three: Hold On**

The sun had finally risen, glaring into my eyes but coaxing the cold water off my skin. Katara and I were too tired to hurry back to camp, but too motivated to fall asleep right there on the bank. So we walked across the clearing together. We didn't talk to eachother at all, but kept our heads down and thoughts elsewhere. Soon we were at the forest again, and so we began retracing our steps.

It was evening when we finally reached our campsite. Appa was standing, munching on the foliage around him. Everything was exactly where we left it. For a fleeting second I wondered why bandits hadn't stolen our supplies— then I realized that monster of a bison had been unknowingly guarding the site for us.

I sighed. Finally, partly to break the silence and partly because it was true, I said: "I'm starving." I threw myself onto Appa's fluffy tail and rubbed my sore feet.

"So am I," Katara agreed. Her voice was softer that usual from not using it all day. "We still have some leftover food from last night…"

"Good, 'cause I'm too tired to find more," I said, struggling to keep my eyes open now that I was lying on a blanket of soft warm fur. I rubbed my eyes and climbed onto the saddle.

"Appa has had his rest, though." Katara joined me, setting the leftover nuts between us. "We could sleep while he travels."

Appa let out a consenting grunt, as though he understood our conversation.

"Yeah, that sounds good," I agreed. "But where are we going?"

"Well… where would Zuko be heading?" she asked, probably more to herself than to me. After a moment she concluded: "It must be Agni-Shi."

I almost shuddered. The prospect of going to the capitol of the Fire Nation was scary… Unless we intercepted them on the way— only then we could avoid the city.

"How do you know?"

"A few months ago, Prince Zuko captured Aang. And the first thing he said is that he was going home." Katara paused. "Then Aang escaped, of course…."

_But can he escape again? _was the question we both asked ourselves.

"We could follow the river," I suggested after a few moments. "The river that the ship is on right now. Appa can fly as fast as it can sail, right? I'm sure we'll catch up to them soon enough."

Katara nodded. "That's a good plan. I'm sure Appa can do it. We should leave as soon as possible…" She cast a worried look in the direction from which we came, the direction of the river, as though hoping to see the ship's dark-gray mast sticking up above the trees.

"Everything's packed," I told her. I hoisted myself up onto the saddle and Katara _yip-yipped._

We sped into the sky. My stomach didn't lurch now as much as it did during the first lift-off; I was ready for it this time. In fact, I realized that I was beginning to enjoy the breezes that would whip my hair across my face, and I could look down at the doll-like villages and forests without feeling sick to my stomach.

The sun was high in the sky, it was about noon, but Katara was asleep on Appa's shaggy head. I found it wasn't hard to drift off myself, although the sun might have been glaring through my eyelids. In a moment sleep had enveloped me in a warm cloud.

* * *

I laid in a state of half-sleep: my senses not fully recovered, only vaguely aware of the world around me. I found my thoughts drifting unrestrained. 

_The shutter creaked open. Just a crack, enough for the little boy to peer out the window into the sunlight. _

_He saw them: two Fire Nation soldiers, red and black armor clanging, marching down the village street. And between them was a man, green-clad with his head held up proudly, showing no trace of fear._

_The boy gasped and ran to the back of the room. The low murmur of voices came to an abrupt halt as he threw the door open. "Haru!" scolded his mother. She sat at a wide table with several adults, who Haru knew to be the village Leaders. "You know not to disturb us during our meetings---"_

_"The Fire men!" he cut her off, his young vioce shrill with panic. "They were marching down the street. And they have an Earthbender!"_

_The men and women glanced at eachother, scared but composed. They arose, one by one, and moved to the main shop room. Standing at his mother's side, Haru saw doors of other houses opening, heads peering over windowsills, women across the street crying. For there wasn't only one set of Earthbender-and-Captors, but a whole parade of them marched down the street._

_Haru looked up at his mother's face. She was once so happy, always smiling. But since the Fire Nation invaded the village last month, he could already see lines of worry on her face, and thin streaks of gray in her hair. And now tears rolled down her cheeks._

_But is mother was invincible! The knowledge that even she could cry was impossible to bear... Frightened, Haru turned his gaze back to the street. _

_His father was being held by two Firebenders, hands tied behind his back, head proudly held high. As he passed he turned his head, meeting his wife's sad eyes. And then he looked straight at Haru. His fearless eyes clearly said to Haru's scared ones, "Be strong."_

_But Haru couldn't. Tears stinging the corners of his eyes, he turned and ran._

* * *

I sighed, eyes still closed, trying to banish the memory from my mind. I knew how disappointed his father must have been of me. I was supposed to be strong; I became the man of the house that day. But instead I ran away, I tried to hide from my fears… 

_And I still do,_ I realized guiltily.

Then a cool wind of dusk blew over me, fully pulling me from sleep. When I looked over the edge of Appa's saddle, I could see the clear river feeding into the sea. The Fire Prince's ship was nowhere in sight.

"Katara," I said, crawling across the saddle. I slid down the bison's neck and onto his head where Katara was still sleeping peacefully. "Katara," I said again, shaking her shoulder.

"Wha…what?" she said, lifting her head. Half-dried streaks of tears ran down her face. She blinked sleep away and quickly rubbed the wetness from her eyes.

"What's wrong?" I said, almost shocked.

"Oh, oh nothing's wrong." She smiled at me, embarrassed for crying. "The wind just makes my eyes water…"

_Of course,_ I thought, _she misses her brother and Aang. _I felt horrible doing so, but I knew I had to… so I reluctantly told her: "I don't know where they are. I think Zuko lost us."

"Oh…" she said with a gasp. Katara bit her lip and looked down at the empty sea ahead of us.

I cast a worried glance at Katara. Her eyes were sorrowful; the bright blue I vividly remembered from our last meeting now seemed a duller melancholy shade. _How is she taking all of this?_ I wondered. I knew how much harm grief could cause, and I didn't want the same to happen to her…

* * *

Katara kept her mind on her task: reaching the Fire Prince's ship. She slept little and worked hard. My eyes were stinging from the harsh cloudless sunlight and cheeks numb from the cold whipping wind. But Katara was still determinedly holding the reins, her long dark plait lashing in the rough wind. We had been flying around the edge of land for the past five hours since I woke Katara up, and the afternoon was quickly fading away. 

"Katara, we _have_ to land," I begged for the third time.

"But if we don't find them now, we might lose their trail forever!" she said frantically. She had a hand on her brow, squinting directly at the sun in the horizon, searching for the silhouette of Zuko's ship.

"If we don't land now, Appa will faint of exhaustion and us from hunger. _That_ wouldn't help the Avatar and your brother."

"You know that's not true. We slept all day!" she parried. "And Appa rested as well. We could keep flying into the night and find them!"

I sighed. "We have no idea where they are, though. They could be heading in any direction for all we know. Why don't we stop and—"

"—Ask for directions!" she finished suddenly, her face lighting up. "That's a great idea, Haru. I'm sure somebody has seen the ship!"

I frowned. That wasn't exactly what I had in mind. _But if it gets us out of the air,_ I thought, _then I'll go along without objection._

Katara pulled on Appa's reins and we soared towards the seashore.

* * *

After we landed and set up camp, we saw a a small family of refugees approaching on the path. 

"Hello there!" Katara called to them. I recalled my own first "meeting" with Katara as she greeted the travelers, a smile on my face. They were taken aback at first, but soon told us everything they knew about the ship — which was nothing — and even offered that we share a meal together. However Katara declined; we were too busy searching for the lost ship.

She walked back to me, bidding the family good-bye.

"I'm glad you said no to them," I told her.

"Why?" she asked curiously.

I replied, "Because we can't trust them."

Katara frowned. "They were a young family, Haru, only two little kids and parents... What, did you think they were sent to murder us?"

"Haven't you ever heard of a family of bandits?" I said, shaking my head. "We can't trust anybody…"

"You sound like Sokka," she told me, a smile creeping across her face. "You worry too much."

"That's because you don't worry at all," I replied with a sigh.

She stopped each of the next civilians we came across as I searched for a good campsite, asking if they had seen the ship; still I could do nothing but keep a wary eye on them, ready to protect her from the results of her own trustfulness.

* * *

I had expected silence. I had expected seclusion. But I had not considered that this was Katara, not me. She apparently had a different way of dealing with grief: relishing the happy memories. 

After she had finally settled back to camp, Katara talked nonstop during our small meal of lychee nuts. She entertained me stories of her adventures with Aang and Sokka.

"So Aang got a great idea: he tied the bags of food to the front of the Canyon Crawlers, and we _rode them_ up the canyon wall! It was amazing!" Her eyes shone as she recalled the memories of her closest friend and dear brother.

I peeled the skin off another lychee nut. "Wasn't that scary? Riding a giant bug straight up a huge wall?"

"Heck yes!" she laughed. "But it was better than staying _in _the canyon and getting eaten."

We both laughed.

* * *

The next morning, Katara and I were gathering our supplies so we could begin another day's journey. She seemed thoughtful; her eyes were on her task but they seemed glazed over. Then she turned to me as though sudden realization had struck; she looked awed, confused, and surprised all at the same time. 

"Haru," she said to me, turning, "why are you still here?"

"What?" I said, caught off guard and confused. "What are you talking about?"

"You! Why are you coming with me?" she exclaimed, taking a step closer. "You said you were travelling to Ba-Sing-Sei to get a master. Doesn't your village need you, Haru?"

I hadn't even thought of it this way before. _Doesn't your village need you, Haru?_ The words rang in my head, shocking and painful. It was a few moments before I recovered and came up with an answer.

"Katara," I said, "you couldn't save them by yourself..." I took a step closer. "I couldn't let you travel alone. I… I care for you, and I don't want anything to hurt you…"

Katara's eyes bore into mine. "But your village…" she said softly.

My mind made up, I said, "I think the Avatar—the fate of the world—is important enough for one soldier to be a little late."

She nodded sadly and turned away.

And I bit my lip guiltily.

* * *

**A/N:** AAAHH! This thing took FOREVER! I am so sorry! My site is soo high-maintenance, it completely runs my life now. And I don't even _like_ this chapter... Hopefully the next chapter will come sooner.

The chapter is all cut-up into little bits, if you hadn't noticed. I used like ten ruler things. That annoys me, but it ended up that way because half the chapter used to be one paragraph.

That little "you don't worry at all" line came from the Revenge of the Sith novel. If you like Star Wars, read that book NOW! It's awesome!

Another huge thank-you to Hotspur for motivating me and giving me the flashback idea!


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